Sonos Beam: The Perfect Audio Upgrade for Your TV

Soundbars are a common and useful upgrade for those looking for better audio from their televisions. While you can settle for any soundbars on the market, there are some, in particular, that are crafted exceptionally well, packed with high-end features, and deliver a sound quality that is truly remarkable.

There are only a handful of soundbars like that on the market, and one of them is the Sonos Beam Soundbar. The Beam is the latest addition to the lineup of Sonos Smart Speakers.

Sonos Beam Soundbar

Founded in 2002, Sonos is an American consumer electronics company that is based in Santa Barbara, California. It is majorly known for the development and manufacturing of high-quality smart speakers.

In recent times, the company has partnered with Amazon to enable Alexa Control on their speakers. They have also partnered with Google to enable Google Assistant, which will also be supported at some point this year.

The Sonos Beam Soundbar is a small device that is packed with some impressive features. We got our hands on this soundbar, and after weeks of testing it, we can finally give you an in-depth review of it.

Features

The Sonos Beam is a surprisingly slim soundbar in comparison to its counterparts. It does a great job of filling the entry-level home theatre audio gap. The soundbar proudly offers excellent overall sound quality.

Let’s discuss all its features in detail below.

Design

The Sonos Beam is an attractive soundbar. It has a subtle design that comes with rounded edges along with a slight concave top-end and control buttons in the center. The touch-sensitive top will allow you to pause, play, skip, adjust volume, and do so much more.

This soundbar comes in two color options: black or white. Its shape is like an elongated, flattened pill, and it measures 25.6 x 3.9 x 2.7 inches. This is surprisingly smaller than most soundbars on the market.

Even with the small size, this soundbar is packing quite a bit inside. It comes with one tweeter and four woofers, which produce ample sound for a medium-sized room. There is a single LED light, which shows the status of the soundbar.

Connectivity

You can connect your TV via HDMI or via digital optical audio. The soundbar also comes with Wi-Fi capabilities. This means that you can directly connect it to Wi-Fi to stream audio or to connect to other Sonos speakers on the same Wi-Fi network for multiroom audio.

Alternatively, it comes with a wired Ethernet cable for network access too. The Sons soundbar does not come with remote control, though. You can either control it with your TV remote or if the TV supports HDMI ARC-CEC.

However, that isn’t an issue as the Beam works great with Siri. This is thanks to the AirPlay 2 technology by Apple. You can also use Amazon’s Alexa voice commands (more on Alexa below). At some point in 2019, you will be able to control the soundbar via Google Assistant too.

Alexa-compatible System

The Sonos Beam comes with built-in Amazon’s Alexa. It is surprisingly responsive even when commanded across a large room.

If you also have Amazon Fire TV, you can directly launch shows or movies on streaming channels like Hulu and Prime via voice commands. However, we did notice a slight lag of a few seconds after commands before the TV stick actually did something.

Performance

The Sonos Beam sounds truly fantastic despite its tiny size. It is capable of producing a full sound. There is a great balance of treble, bass, and midrange too.

That being said, if you are looking for some major punch, then you might end up being a bit disappointed. While the soundbar does produce decent bass, it will in no way be able to rattle the floor without you adding an external subwoofer.

Still, you will be able to hear dialogues clearly, and the music playback is fantastic too.

Ease of Installation

Setting up the Sonos Beam is quite easy. To begin, you will need to download the Sonos app first. You will then need to make a Sonos account or use an existing one to utilize the app.

If you connect the soundbar to the TV’s HDMI ARC port, then it will automatically be able to detect the model and all the settings. To use Alexa, you will need to sign in to your Amazon account during the setup.

Pros

Smaller in size compared to other soundbars

Comes in two color options

Has a unique and attractive design

Has touch-sensitive controls

The soundbar comes with Wi-Fi capabilities

Works with Siri and Alexa

Capable of producing a full sound

Easy to set up

Cons

No Bluetooth audio

The bass on this soundbar is strictly average

Does not have Dolby Atmos

Summary of the Features

The Sonos Beam is a decent soundbar that has quite a bit going for it. For starters, this soundbar is Alexa- and Siri-enabled, and this brings the smart speaker function right in your living room.

Furthermore, this device delivers a balanced and full sound overall, and you will be able to adjust this according to the environment you are in. Its small size is an added bonus as it comfortably fits anywhere. That being said, its bass could have been better.

Comparison with a Similar Product

In order to see how it fares against competition, we compared the Sonos Beam to the Polk Audio SB225 Soundbar. On the surface, the only similarity we saw was that the two soundbars are black in color. On the other hand, there is a whole list of differences between the two.

For starters, there aren’t any color options for the Polk Audio soundbar, and it is significantly larger in size too. Additionally, it is not a smart speaker.

Conclusion

In the end, we found that the Polk Audio SB225 Soundbar lacks the balance and the overall sound quality that the Sonos Beam possesses. Hence, we recommend the Sonos soundbar over the other.

The Sonos Beam is a great entry-level speaker that will transform your listening experience. Its beautiful and compact design, along with choices in colors, will undoubtedly add to your home’s appeal.

What takes the cake is the Alexa and Siri voice commands that make controlling the speaker easy, and soon, you will also be able to use Google Assistant. We are confident that this is a purchase you won’t regret.

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